Cyclones Take Aim at Australia, Madagascar

Last week, Cyclone Hondo ran a seam pattern down the middle of the southwest Indian ocean, intensifying to a powerful category 4 storm but not affecting any land as it tracked poleward. This week, though, we have two storms bearing down on two of the most cyclone-exposed regions in the Southern Hemisphere – northwestern Australia (the Pilbara region) on the one hand, and northeastern Madagascar on the other.

Take Australia first. Last March, the powerful Cyclone George slammed the Pilbara region, making landfall near Port Hedland as a Category 3 cyclone. For some sense of how powerful and devastating the storm was, read this stunning eyewitness account.

Joint Typhoon Warning Center

Now, Cyclone Nicholas, currently a Category 1 but intensifying, looks fated to follow a very similar path. And as you can see below – in an image courtesy of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, there's some very warm water near the coast that should let this storm continue to intensify before it hits land:

NOAA

Depending on the particular track and intensity of this hurricane, there could be a lot of damage.

Meanwhile, over on the other side of the South Indian ocean, Cyclone Ivan – why ever give a storm that name again? – is intensifying and heading towards Madagascar.

Joint Typhoon Warning Center

Already, Ivan is close to Category 2 strength. And according to the official track, pictured below, Ivan is on a path to slam the northeastern part of the country south of Antalaha, a town with a heart-wrenching history of bad cyclone encounters. Let's hope it will be spared this time.

In short, the Southern Hemisphere cyclone season is now kicking up, right on schedule. Last time around, in 2007, the season let Australia off relatively easy – except for Cyclone George – but totally devastated Madagascar with repeated cyclone landfalls.

Let's hope 2008 doesn't shape up to be nearly as bad.